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Passion? vs. Passion

This is an excerpt from a translation of "The Sutra of 42 Chapters:"

[..]you must not walk on the Way as the ox that is attached to the wheel. His body moves, but his heart is not willing. But when your hearts are in accord with the Way, there is no need of troubling yourselves about your outward demeanor.

Love this statement; I always thought to myself that nothing is worth doing unless you have the right feeling behind it—a wholeness. This causes me to be confused about giving up passions. Often times I think the "passion" that the sutras speak of is the same as doing something wholly from the heart—as stated in this above excerpt. The thing is, this doing-something-form-the-heart I also call passion. This feeling of passion seems to be the same feeling when I pursue anything in life worth doing—zen, business, cleaning the house (I don't ALWAYS have this feeling, of course)—that when anything is done "correctly," or wholesomely, it was done with this heart felt "passion."

If the teachings say "drop all passions," but passion feels so much like a heart-felt, totally present, in the moment response to such situations, then what is this "passion" that the sutras speak of?

In this Practice we drop all Passions, all attractions and aversions, Gone Gone Gone. Simultaneously, we are human beings who may live and savor all the Passions of life ... love, happiness, sadness, feelings of disapproval or loss. And at the same Timeless-Time, we are not prisoners of life's passions, and do not fall into excess until we drown. We avoid the Passions of Greed, Anger, Ignorance such as Jealousy and the rest.

All at Once, As One. All Life's Sharp Pieces as Peaceful Wholeness. It ain't rocket science.

Hey, Jundo. I am actually in Bali now. I plan to be here for quite a while.

Thanks for that; it did help.

I've been thinking about that one for many years. I would wonder: when I get that feeling that everything is right about what I'm doing, should I count this as passion—should I count this as wrong? Then I would think that if it is wrong, then what a waste of existence!

I don't know why but in my narrow point of view, the more I practice, the harder I find it to engage in what I used to be passionate about.

In part it's the fact that I am not a boy anymore, of course. Interests change in time.

But now I also find it hard to be all explosive about things in life. Stuff like movies, music, writing, martial arts, sci if... I love it all. I enjoy all that. But I can go without and the world keeps on turning.

A still afternoon watching the ducks swim in the lake is all I need now to be happy. Or 3 hours waiting at the dentist. It's all the same.

I guess in Zen we learn how to embrace good things and bad things a like. At the same time, but with a tendency to equanimity.

Gassho,

Kyonin

Please remember I am only a priest in training. I could be wrong in everything I say. Slap me if needed.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Mr. Spock

What I have learned from my Zen practice is we don't cling to a feeling or moment (whether it is good or bad), but appreciate it for what it is and then let it pass. We allow ourselves to laugh, cry, have joy, be sad, or whatever the moment brings us. However, life is found in the here and now, if we hang on to a moment to long (whether it was good or bad) we are missing life.

What I have learned from my Zen practice is we don't cling to a feeling or moment (whether it is good or bad), but appreciate it for what it is and then let it pass. We allow ourselves to laugh, cry, have joy, be sad, or whatever the moment brings us. However, life is found in the here and now, if we hang on to a moment to long (whether it was good or bad) we are missing life.

Metta, Troy

I believe this is a sound way to live.

Gassho, J

PS - The last minute and a half (from about 3:30) of this story by American Comedian Louis C.K. seems to many folks like such a moment ...

What I have learned from my Zen practice is we don't cling to a feeling or moment (whether it is good or bad), but appreciate it for what it is and then let it pass. We allow ourselves to laugh, cry, have joy, be sad, or whatever the moment brings us. However, life is found in the here and now, if we hang on to a moment to long (whether it was good or bad) we are missing life.

Metta, Troy

Very wise words!! Passion without attachment came to my mind as I was reading your post.